2020 Audi A7 vs. 2019 Maserati Ghibli

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A7 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Maserati Ghibli doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

The A7’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Ghibli doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A7 and Ghibli have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A7 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Ghibli’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Pre Sense City in the A7 as “Superior.” The Ghibli scores only 1 point and is rated only “Basic.”

The A7 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Ghibli doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A7. But it costs extra on the Ghibli.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the A7 Prestige helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Ghibli doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The A7 has standard Audi Connect Care, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Ghibli doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the A7 and the Ghibli have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, rear impact and roof-crush tests, its standard front crash prevention system, its “Good” rating in the new passenger-side small overlap crash test, and its available headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the A7 the rating of “Top Pick” for 2019, a rating granted to only 106 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Ghibli has not been fully tested, yet.

The A7’s corrosion warranty is 8 years and unlimited miles longer than the Ghibli’s (12/unlimited vs. 4/50,000).

There are almost 3 times as many Audi dealers as there are Maserati dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the A7’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the A7 third among midsize premium cars in their 2019 Initial Quality Study. The Ghibli isn’t in the top three in its category.

As tested in Car and Driver the Audi A7 is faster than the Ghibli S:

On the EPA test cycle the A7 SMG gets better fuel mileage than the Ghibli S Q4 (22 city/29 hwy vs. 16 city/24 hwy).

On the EPA test cycle the A7 Auto gets better fuel mileage than the Ghibli S Q4 3.0 twin-turbo V6 (424 HP) (22 city/29 hwy vs. 16 city/24 hwy).

Regenerative brakes improve the A7’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Ghibli doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi A7 higher (5 out of 10) than the Maserati Ghibli (1). This means the A7 produces up to 39 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Ghibli every 15,000 miles.

The A7 offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Ghibli doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The A7’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Ghibli doesn’t offer launch control.

For better traction, the A7 has larger standard tires than the Ghibli (245/45R19 vs. 235/50R18). The A7’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Ghibli (255/40R20 vs. 245/40R20).

The A7’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Ghibli’s standard 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A7 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Ghibli.

The A7 Prestige handles at .93 G’s, while the Ghibli S Q4 pulls only .91 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the A7’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the Ghibli’s (36.4 feet vs. 38.4 feet).

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the A7 Prestige is quieter than the Ghibli S Q4:

The A7 has 3.6 inches more front legroom and 3.8 inches more rear legroom than the Ghibli.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the A7’s rear seats recline. The Ghibli’s rear seats don’t recline.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the A7. The Ghibli doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The A7 has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The Ghibli has no towing capacity.

The A7 Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and other key instrumentation readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Ghibli doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the A7 has standard extendable sun visors. The Ghibli doesn’t offer extendable visors.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the A7 first among midsize premium cars in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Ghibli isn’t in the top three.